Introduction: Bilingual memory representation

Abstract

Cognitive psychologists and cognitive scientists alike will likely attest to the fact that the bulk of research over many decades in these fields has been devoted to the understanding of human memory. We know that we are who we are, because of our memories, and thus, it is one of the most important functions of the mind that one can ponder, research, and try to understand to the fullest extent. Trying to comprehend how we learn mathematical procedures, spatial information, recognition of human faces, reasoning and problem solving, and a whole host of other abilities and skills is due, in large part, to the information that we have encoded and stored in our memories. Consider, therefore, the complexity that ensues when individuals know this information in two, three, or perhaps many languages.